


Promises

by DizzlyPuzzled



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Murder, Kidnapping, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 08:35:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14870400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DizzlyPuzzled/pseuds/DizzlyPuzzled
Summary: “This just in, a warrant for the arrest of Robin, the Boy Wonder and Batman’s sidekick, has been issued for the murder of Commissioner James Gordon. This has been going on for nearly two weeks so far, and there has been no word of where the young ex-hero is or what really happened.”





	Promises

Promises

_The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep._

_Robert Frost_

* * *

               _“This just in, a warrant for the arrest of Robin, the Boy Wonder and Batman’s sidekick, has been issued for the murder of Commissioner James Gordon. This has been going on for nearly two weeks so far, and there has been no word of where the young ex-hero is or what really happened.”_

* * *

               Robin slowly walked forward and carefully looked around the corner. There were two guards, but they were League trained, and he knew that he would draw attention if he fought them. He looked back at his companion for the moment and knew that he needed to get out of here and get the man back to Gotham.

               He didn’t have a choice if he wanted to clear his name.

* * *

_Earlier_

Batman landed on the roof on the GCPD silently; however, the only one up there was Harvey. The man was lighting a cigarette and mumbling about something. Batman felt his son land just as silently behind him.

               “What is it?” Batman asked roughly making the man in front of him jump and turn.

               “Seriously, can’t you just like not appear? You know, maybe show up with a bit of warning?” Harvey asked as he held tightly to his cigarette. Batman narrowed his eyes.

               “Where’s Gordon?”

               “That’s why we flipped the switch.” Harvey paused uncertain as he looked at Robin for a moment. “He’s been missing for seventy-two hours.” 

* * *

               “So he was taken from his home?” Robin asked as they leaped across the street to another building. “There are a lot of people who would be interested in taking him out. He is the Commissioner.”

               “Yes, but there was no trace of anything other than Gordon being gone,” Batman said a she looked over what Harvey had given them. “But there aren’t many traces of evidence that the police found, so let’s go see if they missed anything.” Robin nodded and followed Batman silently.

* * *

               Once they got there, Robin tensed feeling eyes on him. He looked around, but didn’t see anything out of place right off the bat. His father didn’t seem too concerned, but he had learned that Batman was very good at hiding his emotions.

               “There isn’t much,” Batman muttered mostly to himself, but he could tell his son was uneasy. Something was wrong, and he knew that Robin would have his back if there was anything. “It’s almost like he left willing.”

               “Maybe he did,” Robin whispered looking over across the street where a light caught his eye. “We’re being watched.” Robin nodded towards the roof of the opposite street. Batman narrowed his eyes and activated his camera. Whoever had been up there was now gone.

               “Why would he leave willing?” Batman asked as Robin gently picked up a picture of Barbara.

               “Cause I believe this was actually displayed over on the bookshelf,” Robin said pointing to a spot on the shelf that had a spot without dust. “If they threatened her and forced him…”

               “We need to go,” Batman said. He needed to check on Barbara. She might have a lead herself.

* * *

_Now_

“So, now you’re the most wanted person in the world at the moment,” Gordon smiled trying to relax the kid who was on edge. He needed Robin to know that he was okay, and that they had finally gotten out. He needed to hear something from the young hero other than the screams of agony.

               “Only because they think I killed you,” Robin said sharply. “If I can get you to Gotham safely, I can clear my name.”

               “Where are we?” Gordon asked not realizing that they weren’t in Gotham anymore. He figured that they couldn’t have been far, but time had been messed up for him for a while now. “I figured we were somewhere in Gotham, or at least close by.”

               “We’re not even in the United States. We’re in Nanda Parbat,” Robin said. “We’re at the heart of the League of Assassins.”

               “Why?” Gordon asked with horror. He knew that they had been missing for a few weeks, but he didn’t think they would be taken halfway across the world.

               “Because I left them, and they wanted me back no matter what it took,” Robin answered with a small swallow. He was nervous, and he hated it, but there was a mission here to do. He had to ignore his pain until it was over.

               He had to get Gordon to Gotham safely before either of them got killed.

* * *

“Wow,” Gordon whispered as he silently followed Robin across the desert. It was beautiful, but the lack of water and food made him aware that they didn’t have long. “How long till we get somewhere?”

               “We should be getting to Kandor soon,” Robin said as he stopped and closed his eyes and listened. Gordon stopped and watched the kid. He had done this many times, and Gordon had thought that he was just resting, until they were attacked and Robin was able to quickly disarm and take them down. However, Gordon could tell he was favoring his left side. He knew the kid was hurting, but there wasn’t anything they could do about at the moment. All Gordon hoped for was that they could get out of this alive.

               “Anything?” Gordon asked softly when Robin opened his eyes.

               “No, I think we lost them, but it’ll take a couple hours to get there,” Robin said as he started walking again. “I had to go a different direction than the direct route.”

               “How’d you know the area?” Gordon couldn’t help but ask the young hero. He figured that the reason would be Batman’s paranoia.

               “I grew up here, and I had to know. Otherwise I would have died,” Robin answered as he led them into a cave. Gordon stopped for a moment before catching back up. That was more about Robin’s past than he thought he would ever know. “This cuts though the mountain and should cut our time in half. While the League knows it, they try to avoid it.”

               “Why?” Gordon asked wearily looking around for danger.

               “The Justice League created a small base just on the other side,” Robin answered as he pulled at his cape trying to fight his pain and nervousness. “I would take us there if they weren’t hunting me as well.”

               “If I’m with you alive, we should be fine then,” Gordon reasoned only for Robin to stop.

               “Unfortunately the Justice League doesn’t trust me very well,” Robin answered turning to him. Gordon understood that fear a bit better than anyone else. The Justice League was a high and mighty force, but they never looked at the dark side of things like Batman did. Sometimes Gordon wondered what many people seen in them and why they disliked Batman. Batman was always there looking for the good in people while the others seemed to simply beat their villain of the week and send them to jail.

               “They are aware of my past and think that Batman should not have taken me in,” Robin whispered and Gordon could tell the child was insecure about that. That Robin was afraid of them sending him away from his family simply because of where he came from.

               “He is your real father though, right?” Gordon asked remembering the times Robin slipped and called Batman father. Which now Gordon understood why Robin had such a formal way of speaking if he was raised there in that place.

               “Yes, but he did not want me at first. It was not until later that he gave me the option of staying and becoming Robin,” Robin said as he looked around for danger. They were coming up to the end of cave quickly, and Robin knew that he needed to be on his guard. “If the Justice League trusted me more than they do, we would be able to get out of this sooner, but I want to be in Gotham. My father will take my side if I can deliver you there safely. He will keep them back.”

               “Alright, we’ll do it your way, but how do you plan on getting to America without raising suspicion?” Gordon asked. Robin turned to him with a small smile.

               “I’m going to steal a jet from Wayne International here. I can give it back when we land in Gotham,” Robin answered.

               “You know how…nevermind, I’ve seen you drive the Batmobile,” Gordon said as he looked around hoping they could get out of there soon. He just wanted to see his baby girl again.

               “Is that the Justice League Base?” Gordon asked seeing a large building on the other side of the mountain. Robin stopped and looked it over.

               “Yes, they’ve done some work on it, but it’s not fully operational yet. There was some trouble when we had that alien attack a few months ago,” Robin said as he watched the cameras carefully. He hoped that they weren’t going to use facial recognition in the Justice League. “It put a temporary stop to the construction so no one is around.”

               He knew his father might come across the security videos, but maybe he would help quietly in the background if it came to that and not go after them. Robin hoped his father would let him come to him. Let him come back home.

* * *

               Oracle watched the camera footage over and over again from the previous day. Robin and her father had gotten caught on one of the Justice League’s cameras on their base near the Tibet Mountains. She watched it again and knew that it wasn’t tempered with. It couldn’t have been. No one was near the base at the time and most of them have stopped using it until they fixed the damage from the alien attack.

               She had been searching for a match to Damian or Robin since the whole thing started. She stayed closer to Nanda Parbat hoping that he would slip, and she was right. She was not expecting her father to be with him, but she preferred that to what she had been thinking for the past few weeks.

               Her father was alive and was with the kid who was accused of having killed him. She closed her eyes and typed on the computer trying to track their location by satellite. If Damian hadn’t killed Gordon, then he was trying to get him back to Gotham safely, and she would do whatever it took to make sure both of them made it.

               She hacked into the Justice League base and pulled some of the nanotech that Cyborg had been working on. She needed a way to get contact to Damian and let him know that he still had people in his corner.

               “Don’t worry, Little Bird,” she whispered as she made the nanotech into a little drone and started flying it in the direction of Kandor. “You’re not alone, and I’m going to make sure my father gets home safely with you.”

* * *

               “How much longer?” Gordon asked as Damian looked around the corner for any danger.

               “There’s about a mile of open space, and I’m not sure if it’s safe or not,” Robin answered. “So…” Robin stopped and listened. He pulled out his sword and stood in front of Gordon and tensed when a small drone flew up to them. Robin narrowed his eyes at the little bat shaped device when an outline of a green face appeared as a hologram in front of it.

               “You got caught on Justice League security cameras, Little Bird,” Oracle’s voice came though digitally. Robin sighed softly before slowly lowering his sword. Gordon watched curiously with how relaxed Robin became with this development.

               “I had hoped that someone was watching who wouldn’t just come at me with a fight,” Robin whispered as he sheathed the sword. Oracle wouldn’t let anything happen to her father or him, and if she was going to help, then he would be safe from anyone trying anything. They knew who she was, and if she was helping, then they shouldn’t question her judgment. “How bad is it, Oracle?”

               “Besides the world looking for your head?” Oracle said as she started reprogramming the nanotech. “Hold out your arm.” Robin slowly raised it to the drone and it latched on. He held himself still as the tech slowly melded into his armor and created a small computer. “I’m not losing you again, Little Bird.”

               “They took all my tech,” Robin informed as he let the screen come back up. “I’m glad it was you who found me.” Oracle could hear the slight whine and knew that Robin was feeling alone. That he was starting to lose hope himself.

               “What’s your plan on getting back?”

               “I planned on going to Wayne International and stealing a jet. Figured I could give it back directly once my name was cleared,” Robin said. “If I can get him to Gotham…”

               “You can’t be tried for murder if he’s not dead. How far are you?” Oracle asked finally pulling the imagery up that was around them after losing it before. “You have a problem.”

               “How bad?” Robin asked getting a bad feeling. The feeling he’d been getting when he felt they were being followed again. Although now he had eyes in the sky and a way to know what exactly was coming up.

               “Go back to the Justice League base. There’s a twin jet there,” Oracle started only for Robin to pull the computer down and grab Gordon and hideaway in part of a cave while four armored trucks went by them.

               “I can’t risk the League finding me first, that’s too much backtracking,” Robin said. “I’m afraid that they’ll engage before giving me a chance to explain. While I can take them one on one, I don’t think I’ll be able to do it in a group. And not like this.”

               “Your paranoia matches your father’s,” Oracle smiled as she pulled up the footage of the trucks moving around the open space. “It was the League of Assassins, wasn’t it?”

               “Yes, they wanted me back,” Robin whispered making Gordon wince. Gordon was afraid of them finding him and Robin again. He didn’t want to hear the boy’s screams again. Even though he knew he would still in his nightmares. At least then he could wake up. “They ruined Robin’s name with the hope I would come back. Even if I was forced.”

               “And that video?”

               “They wanted the world to be my enemy. Eliminate any trust given to me,” Robin whispered leaning back against the rock wall. “Hope that I couldn’t get any message out.”

               “Why did they keep…Gordon alive?” Oracle asked wondering why they didn’t really kill him.

               “To ensure my loyalty when they were done,” Robin whispered. “They wanted me to kill him. I refused, many times…I…is it clear?” Oracle could hear the plea in his voice. Whatever happened was hurting him, and right now he needed to be his best.

               “No, not yet,” Oracle informed watching carefully. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to her birds.

               Oracle pulled the footage down when she heard someone enter. Dick stood in the Clocktower in Nightwing’s uniform without the mask.

               “How are you holding up?” he asked seeing her watching over Gotham. She typed on the computer before turning to him. He looked like hell. She knew he was sad over what happened. He was the closest to Damian between them all. She knew that this whole mess was hurting him.

               “I’m okay. Has Bruce found anything?” she asked knowing that the man was looking for his son. She would keep him at bay until Damian was somewhere they could safely get to the both of them. If she could keep them protected long enough for them to be safe, then she would keep the secret. However, she also knew that Dick could really use some good news right now.

               She expected there to be a leak somewhere, and she was going to find it since she knew for a fact it wasn’t on her end. She also knew that the League of Assassins had been in the Cave many times.

               “No, he has a search program up, but he hasn’t had a chance to really dig into it,” Dick whispered as he held up a takeout box. “I brought some food.”

               “That’s good,” Barbara smiled as she took some. Dick narrowed his eyes at her.

               “You’re hiding something,” he said watching as she opened the container. He hasn’t seen her smile since the video went viral.

               The video of his little brother killing her father.

               “I might have a lead,” she whispered swallowing. Nightwing could be trusted, and the only tech he messed with regarding his nightlife was what she gave him. He was good at keeping secrets, and it might just lift his spirits again.

               “You want to share?” he asked looking over her screens. There was nothing there to show that she had anything more than Batman did. She looked him over. Out of everyone in their family, Dick was the one who Damian trusted most.

               “Keep it to yourself, and don’t let B know yet. Or anyone else,” she said as she typed up and a location popped up. Robin and Gordon were both lying low in the cave until those trucks were gone from the area. She knew that they had limited time before the fatigue would get to them.

               “Is that where you think he is?” Dick asked looking over the range and knowing it was close to Nanda Parbat.

               “They are,” she amended as she pulled up the footage from the base. “He has Dad with him. He’s afraid of getting into a fight until he can deliver him home safely.” Dick dropped his food and stared at footage. He knew his brother better than anyone. While he could hide how scared he was, Dick knew what to look for.

               Robin looked scared. Gordon was more open about it, but whatever happened, Robin was hurting.

               “Are you sure?”

               “I’ve talked to both of them. Robin didn’t have his tech, so I did a bit of hacking into Justice League files, and it just so happens that this base is where Cyborg had stored some of his nanotech computers,” Barbara smiled. “So I made a small computer and he let it get attached to his arm. Technically, I could do whatever I wanted to him, but he trusted me to guide him out. Him and my father.”

               “And if it’s a trick?” Dick asked looking over the footage as she replayed it.

               “He’s not okay,” Barbara said. “He’s trying to be, but he admitted to not being completely okay.”

               “He doesn’t do that.”

               “Whatever they did to him, he does now.”

* * *

               “Baby Bat,” a voice called though the link on the computer attached to his arm. Robin pulled it close and looked on the screen to see Nightwing’s smiling face.

               “She said she wasn’t going to let anyone know.”

               “Yeah, but you need backup, and you won’t talk to anyone but me most of time anyway. Yet, you let her know you’re not okay,” Nightwing informed watching his brother closely. Robin was always closed off, but now, Nightwing could read him. He could read the pain in the young hero’s face. “Oracle thinks she can get the Zeta to work. She’s really worried. About both of you.”

               “No, please wait until we are out of the desert,” Robin whispered looking over to Gordon who was taking a short nap. “Is there one…No, I can get us out.”

               “Robin, no. She told me your plan of taking a jet from Wayne International. I can at least meet you there,” Nightwing said. “Or I can go there and meet you.”

               “It’s too dangerous,” Robin whispered looking over the edge. “Have the trucks cleared out?”

               “Robin, I’m meeting you there whether you like or not.” A small voice sounded from the other end, but Robin couldn’t make it out. “Or one of us will. B hasn’t been okay since this all started. Look, Oracle thinks there a leak.”

               “Where?”

               “She thinks it’s coming from the Cave,” Nightwing whispered making Robin close his eyes. “Talia…”

               “I know, please…just are we clear to go across? We don’t have much time left, and the longer I wait, the more likely I’ll lose a fight,” Robin informed straightening himself up. “Please, Nightwing.”

               “Okay, she says you’re clear, but stay low and quick,” Nightwing said. “We’re both watching your back, Little Brother.” Robin nodded before shutting off the computer and turning to Gordon.

               “Gordon?” he asked gently shaking the man’s shoulder. Gordon’s eyes shot open to see Robin staring at him. “We have been cleared to continue.”

* * *

               “I need to get to Kandor,” Nightwing said turning to Barbara. His comm lit up and he looked at it. He signed as he pulled it up. “Yeah, B?”

               “We have a situation, I need you here, now,” Batman demanded before cutting of making Nightwing glare at it.

               “Go, I’ll send Red Robin. He’s in Europe,” Barbara said. “I’m not leaving an injured bird alone.” Nightwing nodded before taking off. Barbara got on her computer and linked her system to Red Robin’s comms.

               “Oracle?” Red Robin asked as he looked at her. “What’s up?”

               “I have a special assignment for you in Kandor. Don’t let anyone know where you’re going,” Barbara informed as she sent the data to him. “You’re going to pick up a package and deliver it straight to Gotham. Got it?”

               “What’s the package?” Red Robin asked as he looked over the meeting place. “Isn’t that Wayne International?”

               “Two people and yes. You’ll know them when you see them.”      

* * *

               “I can’t believe we made to the town,” Gordon whispered as he looked over the rooftop towards a building with a giant W on the side. “Wayne certainly makes it easy to know what he owns.”

               “Yes,” Robin muttered as he looked over the map on his computer. Oracle sent him instructions that someone was waiting for him there with a jet that won’t be noticed going missing. Robin moved part of it away as he searched for a way there.

               “How do you plan on getting there without being seen?” Gordon asked looking down at the busy streets. Robin looked down too with worry. “I mean, I’m sure you could do it yourself, but I’m not swinging between buildings.”

               “I’m working on it,” Robin said as he pulled up maps on the sewer system. “We might have to go under.” Gordon looked down at a sewer drain.

               “I hate sewers,” he muttered.

* * *

               Red Robin watched carefully around him. He felt like he was being followed, and it was starting to grate on him. He opened a line to Oracle.

               “Yes, Little Bird,” she greeted happily. Red Robin stopped and looked at her confused. He knew about what had happened to her father and Robin, but he had no idea why she was happy. She had been angry and depressed since the video. He didn’t want to fight with her which is why he came without complain, but now he was starting to worry.

               “Where is the package?” he asked looking around. “Someone’s been watching me since I landed.”

               “Yeah, I’ve got about seven unidentified persons surrounding you. They’re waiting for the package to arrive,” she said typing in the computer. “They should be there in a couple minutes.”

               “I can’t take seven in a couple minutes, can you stall them?”

               “They can help,” Oracle said as she pulled up the map for Red Robin to see where the package was. They were moving quickly inside the building. “Like I said, you’ll know them when you see them. They traveled a long way to get here. You just need to get them to safety.”

               “Got it,” Red Robin muttered as he took out his bo-staff and twisted it around before slamming it on the ground. He closed his eyes and listened carefully for any movement. He heard someone land silently in front of him and he opened his eyes seeing a man dressed in all black. He knew exactly who they were. “Damn it.” The man started towards him and he blocked the hit with his bo-staff.

               Red Robin dove under the man and hit him in the back of head with his staff before twisting around and hitting him again. The hit was blocked by a sword as the man fought back. Red Robin flipped back and heard two more come up behind him before hearing two gunshots. He turned with wide eyes as the two assassins fell. He looked around but didn’t see where the shots came from before blocking a hit from the first guy again.

               Red Robin ducked and jumped away from him before a red, yellow, and black blur shot across and knocked the assassin down and out. Red Robin turned as another assassin attacked him. He had a second to realize that Robin was the one who had saved him. He wanted to be angry, but another shot rang out and he heard another body fall.

               “We need to get out of here,” a man called out, and it took Red Robin a moment to realize who it was.

               “Commissioner Gordon?” he asked looking at the man with a gun who had fired again at the last assassin just as Robin knocked the other down.

               “He’s right, Red,” Robin said as he turned to him before running towards him. Red Robin pulled his staff to block a hit, but instead Robin had wrapped him in hug. He was tense before gently wrapping his arms around the teen.           

               “Dam…Robin?” Red Robin asked softly feeling the tremors run though his little brother. He looked over at Gordon who had a pained look on his face.

               “We need to go,” Gordon said again as he looked at the plane that was there. “This our ride?”

               “Yes,” Red Robin said as Robin let him go. Red Robin gently rested his hand on Robin’s back and guided him to follow Gordon into the plane. Red Robin could still feel the shakes running though his brother and wondered what happened to him. He had always seemed unaffected by anything.

* * *

             “Oracle, are they…” Nightwing trailed off as he looked over to Batman who was talking to a JL member. Although Nightwing believed he was more likely yelling at them.

               “They’ve boarded and Red is bringing them both home. He thinks that Damian is about as far from okay as he’s ever been. They fought some assassins, and after it was safe, Robin wrapped him in a hug,” Oracle said over the comm. “I have Red Hood waiting for pickup once they land. I’ve gotten activity from a known League plane. They’re coming to Gotham, and it’s going to be close.”

               “Great, did you find the leak?” Nightwing asked watching as Batman’s voice grew louder.

               “Yeah, there’s a device in the Cave. I shut it all down there and won’t bring it back up until I’m sure that it’s been fixed and it removed. Talia and Ra’s have been in Cave and have had the opportunity to do so,” Oracle growled as she typed further though it. “They’ve had it for about four months is my guess with how much info had been accessed and when. They were careful not to do it all at once.”

               “So this was planned,” Nightwing sighed as he looked over at Batman who had hung up and was heading towards him. “Send me where they’re going to land so we can back up Hood and the others. It’s time we end this.”

               “If I get another call about who Robin is and where to find him, I’m going to dismantle the communications in the WatchTower,” Batman growled as he headed towards Nightwing. “I can’t get signal to the Cave either.”

               “Oracle shut it down. There was a beech,” Nightwing informed looking at Batman. Batman stopped and turned to him with narrowed eyes. “The League of Assassins.”

               “Damian?” Batman asked keeping his emotions in check. He had trusted his son, and now he didn’t think he could ever trust anyone again like that. There was no way he could open himself for that pain again.

               “No, it’s been there for four months. Oracle thinks it was Talia and Ra’s the last time they were there, she’s going though the footage in the Cave now,” Nightwing said. “For now, we have someone to back up ‘cause they’re after them. There’s a death note on both of them.”

               “Who?” Batman asked getting a sinking feeling. He had hoped that his son had changed in the few years he was Robin, but he had lost hope after the weeks when the video came out and there was no sign of him, but Nightwing had watched his words, and there was something that he wasn’t being told.

               “Commissioner Gordon and Damian Wayne,” Nightwing answered looking at Batman sadly. “Red Robin has them both on a plane to Gotham.”

               “Gordon’s alive?” Batman asked surprised. He figured they would find Damian sooner or later, but he had believed his old friend to be dead.

               “Yeah, don’t have the whole story, but he is. Oracle found them when they passed a League base in the mountains a couple days ago. She kept it secret until she found the leak,” Nightwing said as they hopped in the Batmobile and headed for the airport.

               “You guys kept it from me,” Batman accused looking at his adopted son carefully.

               “She was afraid of it being fake and then she was worried about a leak. So we kept it down low till they were safely on a plane headed here,” Nightwing said as Batman pressed harder on the pedal.

               His son didn’t kill anyone that they knew of yet. And he was going to make sure that he was safe at home when this was over.

* * *

               “Hey, Baby Bat,” Oracle greeted as the computer lit up. Robin looked at it before sitting up. “Daddy Bats is on his way to the airport for backup. We think there might be a surprise waiting for you guys.”

               “I’ll keep him safe,” Robin promised seeing the worry in Barbara’s face. “I’ve done so thus far. I can keep going. He can also handle himself when he’s not tied up. He’s been helpful when we were attacked. I don’t think I would have been able to make it without him.”

               “Then get some rest, Damian, the both of you,” Barbara whispered seeing the bags under the mask. Robin looked around the small little room he was in on the plane. He pulled off his mask and looked at Barbara. She gasped seeing the pain in Damian’s eyes. They were bloodshot and puffy.

               “Is Grayson going to be there?” Damian asked with a slight switch in his voice.

               “Yeah, he’s on his way too. It’ll be a couple hours before you guys arrive there,” Barbara said as she typed on the computer. “Are you okay?”

               “No,” Damian answered softly as he wrapped his arms around his knees. “Can you patch me over to him?” Barbara looked over the screens so see where they were.

               “Hang on a second,” she said as she pulled up the comm to the Batmobile.

* * *

               “Go, Oracle,” Batman answered as he drove down the road.

               “Someone wants to speak to Grayson,” she said making Nightwing sit up straight. “They’re a couple hours out yet, but I think he needs reassurance that you’re not going to hurt him.”

               “What about Jim?” Batman asked looking at the screen for a moment before going back to the road. He knew that Barbara’s first priority would be her father, so if she was helping Damian, then she trusted him enough for Batman to know that his son hasn’t gone off the deep end.

               “According to Red Robin, he has fallen asleep in the cabin after eating half the food in the jet,” Oracle informed. “Robin has only eaten a couple bites of a sandwich and some water. Red is worried about him. I called him, and he would like to talk to you.”

               “Patch him though,” Nightwing said as another screen popped up. There was a slight distortion as Batman seen his son for the first time in several weeks.

               “Damian?” Batman said softly making Damian look up at the camera. Damian gave a small smile before it dropped.

               “I did it. I was able to get him to safety,” Damian said and the camera shook lightly. And Batman knew he was saying that he succeed in his mission, and that hurt. His son’s first thought shouldn’t be that he had a mission to accomplish.

               “Oh, Little D,” Nightwing whispered as Batman pulled into the port and pulled up a scanner to check the area. It was clear so far.

               “I’m scared,” Damian whispered looking at them. “I just want to go home.”

               “It’s almost over,” Batman whispered as he pulled his cowl off. “I promise you, Damian, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

               “Dami,” Nightwing whispered as he also took off his mask. “You can do this. You made it this far. And once you land, your family will be waiting to help you.”

               “Why couldn’t she just leave me alone?” Damian asked at his father. “I was happy.”

               “Because she doesn’t want you happy,” Bruce said softly. “She just wants an heir, a weapon. She doesn’t care about anything else.”

               “I don’t want to fight her anymore. I just want her to leave me alone,” Damian whispered looking away from the screen. “What she did…” he trailed off feeling his chest tighten.

               “Dames, what’d she do to you?” Dick asked seeing the pain on his little brother’s face. Tears formed in Damian’s eyes.

               “She wanted me to break my promise to you, and she wouldn’t stop hurting me,” Damian whispered as he looked at the screen. “I wouldn’t.”

               “Its okay, Damian,” Bruce whispered checking the scanners again. Four dots appeared surrounding the port, and he knew the moment they landed that there was going to be a fight. “Just get a little rest; the moment you guys land be on guard.”

               “They’re already there, aren’t they?” Damian asked staring at his father.

               “Yeah, and they’re not going to engage until they’re close to what they…hold on,” Bruce said as he looked again. There were now three dots. “What the…”

               _“Yo, I was told I was to pick up a couple birds and a not dead Commissioner, not fight assassins,”_ Hood’s voice came from the comm link on Nightwing’s computer. _“What did the Demon Child get himself into?”_

“It’s not his fault,” Dick said into it. Damian looked at him on the screen. “Just the situation. Where are you?”

               _“Northside, they don’t have connections to each other, so silent takedown might hurt their numbers,”_ Hood said static came though shortly. _“So, you gonna help?”_

               “Yeah,” Dick said as he looked up at the screen with his little brother still there staring at them. “We’ve got work, Baby Bat.”

               “I heard, go kick some butt, I’m going to get some sleep,” Damian smiled at them before letting the connection go.

               “I have to figure out a way to keep the Justice League out of Gotham until the charges have been dropped,” Batman said after he pulled the cowl back on. “They’ve been trying to get to him since the video came out.”

               “Why are they going so hard?”

               “They think he was an agent sent to take me out,” Batman whispered. “They are insisting on taking him down as soon as possible.”

               “You didn’t believe that video at first, did you?” Nightwing asked as they jumped out of the Batmobile.

               “No, he’s changed a lot in the past couple years. He holds himself to a much higher standard, but he’s also relaxed a lot. I do believe he takes that from you more than anything.” Batman shot Nightwing a small smile. “He hasn’t even been aggressively violent in the past few months before he disappeared.”

* * *

               “Robin?” Red Robin whispered seeing his brother curled up on the floor in the corner of the room. Robin looked asleep, but shot awake went he heard his name. Robin looked up at Red Robin before looking back at the floor.

               “Yeah,” Robin said softly as he slowly sat a little straighter. Red Robin walked over to him before sitting down next to him. Robin didn’t shy away or say anything mean like he normally would. Red Robin gently put his arm around his little brother and pulled him close.

               “I know there’s a lot that you haven’t told anyone, but Gordon did say that you tried your best. That there were times when you could have escaped by yourself,” Red Robin whispered as he gently rubbed Robin’s arm. “You didn’t leave him though. You let yourself get tortured so they wouldn’t kill him. He wanted you to leave, but you refused.”

               “If I had left without him, everyone would believe the video. They would think that I was the one who killed him,” Robin said softly as he leaned into his brother. After so long where the only type of touch he had had was painful, he felt a little starved. Especially since he now knew what it felt like to be cared for. “I was afraid that no one would believe me.”

               “You did good, Little Bat,” Red Robin comforted as he tightened his hold. “I think you’ve earned enough merits for us to believe whether or not you were able to bring him home alive or not.”

               “We’re not home yet,” Robin reminded turning to Red Robin. “There’s a welcoming committee on both sides of this.”

               “Yeah, Oracle gave me a heads up before I came in. You’re going to be good to fight?” Red Robin asked. Robin gently rested a hand on his side and felt around the bruising.

               “I can fight,” Robin said as he smiled at his brother. “As long as you guys have my back.”

               “We do. Always.”

* * *

 

               “Wow, there’s more coming,” Nightwing said as he glared at the scanner on his computer. “Where are they coming from?”

               “Fuck it, who cares? They should be landing soon,” Hood growled as he bashed one of them in the head. Nightwing nodded as they slowly headed back to the strip. They could faintly see a black plane coming in.

               “Well, at least we knocked some of the numbers down,” Nightwing mumbled as they jumped down off the roof. Hood reloaded his gun as they made their way towards the landing plane.

               “How many more have shown up?” Hood asked looking over Nightwing’s shoulder to his computer.

               “At least ten, but we have put a dent in the numbers. We have reinforcements on the plane, but only one is at a hundred,” Nightwing said. Hood frowned.

               “Demon Brat isn’t feeling good?” he asked as they watched the plane land.

               “He’s not okay,” Nightwing whispered. “So maybe insulting him isn’t a good thing at the moment.” Hood stopped making Nightwing turn to him.

               “She tortured him?” he asked. Nightwing couldn’t tell what he thinking with the hood on, but he had a feeling that Hood knew what had probably happened. “He’s probably not going to be okay for a while. Being torture by your mother has to mess with your head.”

               “So we need to have his back,” Nightwing whispered as the plane came to a stop on the runway. Nightwing looked down at his scanner again. Only six dots remained, but they were surrounding the plane, and he believed that there may be more if they were one on top of another.

               “Well, at least we got a good chunk of them already taken care of,” Hood muttered as he raised his weapon and aimed at the back of an assassin. “Are we linking up?”

               “Yeah, give me a moment,” Nightwing said as he typed on his computer. Oracle came up. “Can you get us all linked together?”

               “Give me a second. It’ll be hard to get Baby Bat linked. He doesn’t have a comm in his ear, just the nanotech I stole from the Justice League, which I kinda want to check out ‘cause it was useful and might prevent something like this from happening again. That tech is amazing,” she answered and they both could hear her typing. “Alright, everyone’s good.”

               _“I’ll be next to Robin the entire time just in case,”_ Red Robin’s voice came though. _“He says hi by the way.”_ They could hear something else said in the background before Red Robin’s laugh came though. _“Okay so he doesn’t say hi."_

               “Yeah, that sounds like the Brat,” Hood smiled. Nightwing started heading for the runway as they seen shadows come up to the plane. They could make out Batman among them. He was mimicking one of them trying to get close before taking them out when the plane’s door opened. Red Robin and Robin matched paces as they ran forward and took out the two assassins that were heading towards them. Robin raised his sword and blocked a hit towards his side before he jumped up and over the guy.

               Red Robin came in close and punched the assassin down before standing back-to-back to Robin and they started covering each other. Batman slipped beside them and protected Robin’s left side when he realized that his son was favoring it.

               “There’s more than we thought,” Hood grumbled as he aimed. A gunshot rang though that wasn’t his as Gordon also came out of the plane with a rifle. He fired three times and took out three of the eleven assassins surrounding the plane. “Why does he get to kill them?”

               “He’s a cop,” Nightwing answered glaring at his brother. “Cops can shoot when they are threatened.”

               “I should’ve been a cop,” Hood said as he shot an assassin in the leg and slammed his fist into his face. “That would have been interesting. This just in, Dead Child becomes Killer Cop,” Hood laughed as he turned to Nightwing who just glared at him. “That was funny and you know it.”

* * *

               “Robin, you still with me?” Batman asked seeing Robin wear down a lot faster than normal. Only two assassins remained. Red Robin had positioned himself on Robin’s other side and aimed his staff at the two that was left. Batman watched them carefully and waited for an answer.

               “Yeah, but I’m not sure how much longer I’ll last,” Robin said shakily. Batman came up a little and gently tapped his shoulder to silently tell him to go behind him. Robin wanted to protest but stopped and quickly took a step back. He turned hearing running from behind him as Hood and Nightwing headed towards them.

               “I think it’s over,” Batman growled as the two assassins took a step backwards. Gordon pointed his gun at them.

               “It’s time for your group to leave Gotham,” he ordered needing this to be over. He wanted to see his daughter, and he knew that Robin wanted to be with his family just as much.

               Nightwing slid down to his knees quickly and wrapped Robin in a hug as he glared at the assassins. Robin hugged him back but was aware that this wasn’t over just yet.

               “It’s okay, Baby Bat,” Nightwing whispered feeling the tremors in Robin’s body. “I’ve got you.”

               Hood pointed his gun at the assassins as well. They turned and ran off as everyone gathered around the young hero. Gordon looked over at Batman.

               “You have one hell of a kid,” he whispered as he watched the child who had barely been keeping himself together for the past few weeks break apart in the arms of his brother.

               “I know,” Batman whispered. He walked up to them and gently rested his hand on his son’s head.

* * *

               “I’m so glad you’re alive,” Barbara smiled as she hugged her father tightly.

               “Me too,” Jim whispered in her ear. “God, I was so scared that the last thing I would ever hear was his screaming. And that I would never get to see you again.” Barbara filed that one part away to ask Bruce later.

               “He never hurt you?”

               “He wouldn’t leave me even when I asked him to.”

* * *

               “Dami?” Dick asked seeing his brother wrapped in a blanket standing outside his bedroom door. “You alright?”

               “Father is out with the Justice League trying to make them leave me alone,” Damian said looking at the ground. “Can I stay with you?” Dick smiled at the fifteen year old.

               “Of course, come on,” Dick said as he moved over on the bed. Damian slowly walked in and sat down before lying down. Dick wrapped an arm around his brother and pulled him close. “Do you want to talk about it?”

               “Not really,” Damian whispered feeling comforted by the arms that were surrounding him. Dick gently rubbed his little brother’s back.

               “Alright, then do you want me to talk?” Dick asked feeling Damian slowly start to relax.

               “No,” he answered softly as he slowly fell asleep.

* * *

 

               “Batman…” Superman trailed off when the Dark Knight turned a glare to him.

               “Robin did not kill the Commissioner, the charges have been dropped and his name is clear. The only thing I want from the Justice League is an apology to him. He could have gotten out of there sooner if you guys hadn’t treated him like a criminal,” Batman growled glaring at the members.

               “But he has killed before,” Green Lantern said with a glare as well. “We can’t look past that.”

               “When he was in the League of Assassins, yes he did. But since he has been under my care, since he has been Robin, he has refrained from it. He’s trying to change,” Batman informed as he stood up. “He’s Robin now. He deserves your respect just like the others. He was tortured when he could have easily broken and actually killed someone. He passed a Justice League base where he could have gotten help, but didn’t because he was afraid of you. What good are we when our own is afraid to go to us for help?”

               “Batman, he still needs to…” Diana stopped when Batman turned to her.

               “Your hands are not as clean as you lead everyone to believe,” Batman growled at her. Diana looked down. “You’ve been here for a long time and you were a warrior. You of all people should know what it’s like to change.”

               “It still stands, you still have doubts,” Superman said softly as he looked to his friend. “You’ve told me before.”

               “And now I don’t,” Batman countered. “He is a fifteen year old boy who was tortured. They wanted him to kill again, to break his promise to me, and he stayed strong. He didn’t cave, and you want to punish him for that. He’s been through enough without you adding to it.” Batman turned and started heading out the door.

               “Wait, Bruce,” Superman called making him stop at the door. Batman turned a glare to him.

               “My son has been missing for weeks, and I’m up here dealing with you instead of being with him,” Batman growled. “My family needs me more than any of you. Leave him alone, or you will not like the consequences.”

Batman walked out leaving the founders in disbelief.  

* * *

 

               “Dick?” Bruce asked walking into the bedroom of his oldest. Dick looked up from the bed with a small smile. “Have you seen Damian? He’s not in his room.” Dick slowly moved the covers to reveal Damian curled on his side and cuddled up to Dick’s side.

               “He came in a little while ago upset. He didn’t what to talk about it,” Dick whispered as Bruce came in and gently sat down next to them. He slowly put his hand on Damian’s hair and gently ran his fingers though his hair.

               “Did he have trouble sleeping?” Bruce asked as he watched his son breath. It was a restful sleep, and one that he knew his son needed desperately after the mess.

               “No, I think he just didn’t want to be alone and you were busy. Did they finally give up?” Dick asked as Damian shifted slightly to be closer to his father. Bruce looked down.

               “I believe I made my point very clear. He hasn’t killed anyone since he’s been under my care as Robin,” Bruce said softly with a smile when Damian grumbled lightly before pushing himself against Dick again. “They shouldn’t judge him for his past, but what he’s trying to be now.”

               “They will though. He’s not like the rest of us. Even Jason. He wasn’t a killer until after he came back,” Dick whispered making Bruce look him with a smile.

               “I think Damian has taken a bit from all of you.”

               “Is that a good thing?”

               “It’s a good thing.”

_Fin_


End file.
